A Pentagon inspector general's investigation last year found that O'Reilly regularly yelled and screamed at subordinates, often in public, demeaned and belittled employees and behaved in such a way as to result in the departure of at least six senior staffers from the Missile Defense Agency during his time as its director.

Panetta determined that O'Reilly had met the basic standard for being allowed to retire without a loss in rank, which is that he "served satisfactorily" as a three-star.